Simply Complex
by Wishful Falling
Summary: She was amazing. Her story, an exhilarating experience. She could've achieved so much and lost so little, but instead had lost so much and gained so little. It seemed odd, how someone could live like that. To live only giving, but not saving. To live by only feeling adrenaline rushing through the veins as their heart beat rapidly. It was so strange... Her ancestor... Alima's story.
1. Prologue

Cat-like green eyes stared at the old man in front of her confusedly, "But.. That doesn't make any sense." The old man in front of her gave her a cryptic smile. His weathered face looked tired, but his similar, though smaller, green eyes shone in amusement under the sunlight floating in from the open window in the room. He looked around his mid-seventies, his head still full of silver white hair that used to be the color of the night.

The room the two were in was a small western styled bedroom with man personalized objects, mostly photographs, scattered around the room showing all sorts of different people from what looked like travels all over the globe. The same man came about in the photos, although not in all, over and over again, looking like the younger version of the elder in front of the teenage girl. From the Eastern continents of Europe and Asia all the way to Antarctica and from there onto South America and even world-famous places in America, where they lived, like the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge.

The girl in front of him was most likely his granddaughter, her matching eyes showing the resemblance. The small of her back was touched by her long,curly golden hair, her eyes shining brightly through the strands of her thin fringe. She looked no older than thirteen, but her height sullenly short for her age, but her skin tan, as if she went off to bathe in the sunlight daily.

"What doesn't make any sense to you, my Nevaeh?" The grandfather asked, eyes giving at his excitement of the conversating just awaiting him around the corner with his sharp descendant.

The girl, Nevaeh, shrugged, "I don't know, The story you told me... You've told me it so many times ever since I was young... But, now, when I think about it.. I feel there's something missing in the story..as if this isn't right... " Her bright eyes widened at what she had just suggested and she quickly wove her hands in front of her, "It's not like I don't like the stories you tell me grandpa. No, I highly appreciate and thank you for telling me this beautifully woven mix of stories... it's just a gut feeling that there's something missing-"

"Actually, my Nevaeh, you hit the bulls eye," Her grandfather interrupted him, eyes twinkling even brighter than before as he spoke. She gaped at his interruption, "Are you serious?"

He nodded at her gawking figure, chuckling in amusement. "There's actually more to these stories," He then looked at her with sharp eyes, surprising her. Her grandfather wasn't one to become serious so suddenly "I want you to know... This story... I called it 'Magi' did I not?" She nodded, unsure of where this was going. "Well my dear Nevaeh, what you do if I told you this story was true? Of course, I left something out that you've caught."

She started blubbering a giant mess as she started ranting unbelievingly. The elder watched with serious eyes that she caught as she got into her rambling and stopped immediately, "You're serious." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

He nodded, "Well, I guess I should now retell the story," He leaned back in his rocking chair and sighed. "The story of 'Magi', though no matter how beautiful, is not untarnished. They had forgotten a person, someone who could have been called 'great' even on her own. She... Let's start from the beginning. I'm getting ahead of myself."

Nevaeh couldn't hold in her curiosity so she asked, eyes wide as she leaned forwards, "Grandpa, what was her name?"

"Her name, my dear Nevaeh, was Alima." A tranquil smile fell onto her grandfather's face and it made Nevaeh all the more curious, "And she is our ancestor."

Her ancestor... her bloodline... Alima. Her eyes shined in interest, "Our ancestor., Alima."

She listened as her grandfather told the story of their ancestor without fail, words splaying out of his mind non-stop, as if he didn't even need to think as he retold the story, the story of her great grandmother. She listened intently as she leaned closer towards the man.

"So it began like this..."

* * *

**Hey, this is Ryuu here! Hope you guys liked this prologue. I really wanted to write a fanfiction of my own and this suddenly appeared in the middle of the night last night and I quickly had to write it down. I would like to see how this will develop, no doubt I'll need to research more on Magi and the Arabian Nights, 72 demons of Solomon, etc.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Magi, any of the characters, or the plot of the story. This is all of the great mind Shinobu Ohtaka and I do NOT want to take credit for any of their ideas at all. I only own my OCs along with the original parts of the story that did NOT happen in the authentic story line/cannon of Magi. This is a FANFICTION of my own creation as a FAN of this series. Thank you for your time.**

**Well, I hope you liked this chapter. I'll try to get the next one out as soon as possible. Peace!**

**-Ryuu**

**:D**

**Edit: So I've just kinda edited this. I'll be editing the entire story again once it's complete. I'll be editing every five chapters. :3**


	2. Candle Lights and Fireflies

**Okay, I couldn't help myself. I am in love with writing this story. I've made another chapter already! Hope you all enjoy.**

**Too bad I think I'm turning into Sinner... I'm way too much of a sadist to my Alima-chan right now.**

**I almost forgot, I added a Disclaimer in the first chapter. Go check it out for the one here. Peace!**

**-Ryuu**

* * *

_"She was born in a small merchants family of three, now four. Her parents were travelers in a slightly packed caravan. Father, a rather large man with copper blonde hair and droppy green eyes that could make any soul burst in laughter. Her mother, a pretty maiden with light brown hair kept long and crystal blue eyes that couldn't let even a fly starve. They'd met as children and had grown up together as their parents had set them up since birth. Luckily for them, it was a love-filled marriage._

_"She was their second daughter, the first child being seven years old when she was born. He looked like a pretty mix of his parents with soft green eyes and short, cropped, dirty blonde hair. He had a frail tanned body that easily bruised, and a terrible immune system to boot. But he was like a bright light. You couldn't look at him and not smile with his carefree and childish attitude. It was not the parent's fault, everyone in the caravan knew so. They were just told that the child was unlucky with Rukh as he was born by a traveler who had stayed with them for a while._

_"Alima, she was a healthy girl, but wasn't what her parents- what anyone really- had expected. She didn't bear any resemblance to either of her parents. Instead of the tan skin they held, she had pale skin. Instead of their green and blue eyes, she had a strange tone of orange. Instead of blonde or brown hair, she had somehow gained blue hair. It was truly mystifying, Some said the wife had slept with another man or that they had adopted her, delusioning themselves to believing that she was their own because of their poor son's disability, but the boy believed his parents. And the parents knew that both the children were of their own._

_"Though Alima was a child just like any other, she grew up shunned by everyone but her family and a few who tried to take a chance. Few of the women loved the child, most were disgusted by her existence. Most of the men thought she was a cheeky little brat that didn't know how to respect her elders, few knew she was just a child who didn't know what she'd done wrong and tried to get close to her, to take care of her, but all were pulled back by the rest of the group who deemed her unworthy. The children were confused, as their parents told them to do their best not to get near the child as she was bad luck and they would get a lashing, but saw how lonely she was and the way she'd look at them once in a while as they played while she sat alone on the floor they travelled, staying as far away from them as possible._

_"They didn't know what to do, but kept their distance as they would be disobeying their elders and would get multiple lashings if they didn't._

_"She was lonely in this world. Her parents looked after her brother more, who would look at her as if she were a joke when people weren't around. He would scoff and 'shoo' her like a menace and wisely, she did as she was told. Her pale ink blue hair was always cut short and her features had started to become more masculine than her brother's, but somehow had kept the beauty of her mother, though a bit more graceful. She was a strange child, everyone knew._

_"No one ever talked to her, only talked about her. She was the black sheep there and she knew. She knew what was going on. She wasn't just a normal child, her parents saw that when she was born. And so, three years after her birth, somehow already walking and talking as if a nine year old child in mind, her parents named her 'Alima', or wisdom._

_"As they got to Reim, they were pressured to orphan her, to leave her to die. Even their elder child wished she was gone and told them honestly that he didn't like her presence, as she made him feel inferior to her for some strange reason. So they had told her to stay put, that they'd come back for her. And they had done something unspeakable while telling the caravan they left her to rot. They never did come back for her. She was alone, an orphan at the age of four with the mentality of a young teenager."_

...

Why did brother dislike me?

Why did the other children not play with me?

Why did the adults look at me as if I were a beast?

Why was I different from other children?

Why did I not look like Mother and Father?

Why am I here?

_It's getting dark and cold._

Where is Mother? Where is Father? Where is brother? Where is my family?

They told me they'd be back soon.

It's been four hours. I checked so many times, the clock and the door.

Were they getting rid of me?

_I'm scared._

Did they hate me that much?

I'm cold. It's starting to rain.

Why was born?

Did brother hate me that much?

Did the guild hate me that much?

_I was never loved.._

I was a burden wasn't I?

This is my punishment, I can tell.

I want to cry, but why can't I?

They're my family, why can't I feel sad that they left me.

Were they not my family, as I had thought they were?

But Mother, Father, Brother... The tears are starting to fall.

I'm scared. Where are you all?

My eyes are getting heavy.

My chest hurts.

I can't breathe.

I feel pain and I can't think straight.

_What was wrong with me?_

What was going on?

I can't see anything anymore. I'm slipping. I can't do this.

I'm sorry, Mother, Father, Brother, I wish I could undo the wrong I had done.

I wish I could just see you all once more... and say goodbye and apologize at the very least.

Thank you, for everything..

...

_"So horrible... To a child only four, no matter her mentality."_

_"Don't interrupt me Nevaeh, I lose track like that."_

_A grumble was heard from the girl, "I didn't mean to. I'm sorry."_

_"No matter, now where was I? Ah yes, she was abandoned by her 'family'. No matter what she thought, she couldn't sccumb to the dark for some reason. She felt... strange when she had woken up again. She wasn't where she was when she had fallen asleep."_

...

A groan escaped thin lips as dull light orange eyes groggily opened. The girl, Alima, felt as if she'd crashed into something extremely hard on her left side of her body as she woke up sitting straight up. Her head hurt, but her chest felt empty. Her brows furrowed before she remembered what had occurred just what felt like a moment before. She'd passed out from the emotional trauma of what had happened last night. Alima sighed and tried to stretch her arms, but eyes widened immediately, sharpening as fast as something clinked and she started to feel a weight on her. Specifically, weights on her wrists and ankles.

She looked around her surrounding to see what she was loathing. People were grieving around her, shackles constricting their mobility as they were around their wrists and ankles, just like hers. She hadn't been abandoned. No, not even close. She sucked in a breath and kept herself calm. She was sold by her two blood parents as a slave.

She wasn't even human to her parents. She chuckled softly before it had risen louder and louder, scaring the slaves around her as she looked as if she had broken. She knew they'd seen this before. No, what scared them was that a four year old, a measly four year old had been taken and had so quickly, so willing accepted what they couldn't and that she knew that being a slave was bad news. It probably was the reason why they backed away from her. She had started laughing loudly as she rose octaves. She hid her face as she started to silently shake, her face hidden by her hands.

The cell was dark and damp, no window there to give them even a small shed of light. But there was a candle. A candle in the middle of the room that flickered around and about.

She had tired out, fallen asleep, but woke up a while later when most the slaves had fallen asleep, all but her. Alima had seen it and slowly crawled to it, stopping in front of the mystical thing, hands placed in between her legs which spread by her sides, her body making an 'm' shape without her arms from the back. In all its beauty. It flickered silently, so modestly, giving off a soft glow. "It's pretty isn't it." The girl nodded, opting to stay quiet and bask in the object in front of her.

So small and so common, no one really looks at them with much thought. It was just something that was there, but she knew, it wasn't just something that was there. To Alima, it felt as if it symbolized something. Her irises glowed off of the light, her hair looking as black as the night as it passed her shoulders, tumbling down to her waist. She found the reason no one had cut her hair was because of the more money they would be payed if she was 'prettier'. She didn't get the point of vanity. It just made people want more than they had.

She gently pushed those thoughts away and watched silently watched the candle light, the rustling of clothing getting closer as the soft padding of footsteps echoed through the room before the other person had sat next to her. Alima didn't look, but she could tell they were older than her by a few years and male, judging by his voice and presence.

"Why do you look at the candle like that?"

She then spoke for the first time since she'd had been sold off by her family. No, that wasn't the word. They were just people who had similar genes to hers. That was all they were now. "Like what." Her voice was barely audible and hoarse, making her mentally sigh. That was what she got for not using it as she should, instead opting to be silent.

"Why do you look as if the candle is alive, like it's hiding something?" He was a curious one, no doubt he was here longer than her by the way he had adjusted to the 'new slave' so quickly and hadn't stayed far away from her, though as tense as he may be.

Alima glanced at the boy and saw his face for the first time. He had shaggy rusty blonde hair that had a fringe hiding his blue eyes that would show once in a while as he moved. His thin eyebrows were scrunched up as he looked at the candle, concentrating to try to see what she saw in it, a frown on his full lips. He was pale, paler than her, but not as it would seem he was sick. He was around thirteen, much older than she had thought he was at first. She would only reach his hips at most. She stopped studying him after a moment and looked back at the small candle in the center of the room. A loose silence had entered the room, only soft breathing from the other captured people filling up the void.

"It's like the world," She said after a while, making the boy snap his head at her curiously, "The world is a big place filled with darkness and it's scary," Alima paused for a moment as she caught her breath before speaking once more," but there's always that one small spark of light that can outshine it all when it has the chance. It's like a firefly at night. They'll come out when it becomes dark and a whole bunch of them will follow, making sure it wasn't dark anymore." She spared him a glance, only to see him gawking at the four year old.

"Oi, how old are you?" She blinked before counting her fingers and holding up four chubby fingers. The boy's jaw fell to the floor, "No way!" He almost forgot to whisper, but caught himself just in time, toning it down as he spoke, "You sound like those old guys, but cuter!" He stood up and pointed at her, "From now on, you're my imouto."

Alima tilted her head and he gushed, "Oh you're so cute! I promise I'll get you out of here okay?" He held out a hand to her and she stared at it before looking at him.

She opened her mouth, "What's your name?"

He froze before blushing red, "Oh gosh, I'm sorry. I did all this without you knowing who I was." He gave her a grin, "I'm Fritz. You?" She bit her lip, "Alima.."

Fritz looked at her, his grin widening, "Your name even means 'wise'. So fitting Alima-chan."

Alima gave a slight frown and with her young age, it looked like a pout, "Don't add 'chan'. I'm not a baby. I'm four."

He snickered at her, "Sure you aren't Alima-chan." She was about to say something but he cut her off, "So what do you say Alima-chan? Be my imouto and we'll get out of here together?" Right, his hand was still in front of her, ready for her to grasp.

He gave a blinding grin and she looked at the boy with wide eyes. He was so... radiant. And here he was asking her, a mistake, to become someone close to him and promising to get both of them out of here alive? She held back a gasp and nodded.

Fritz pouted, "Oh come on now, you need to shake my hand."

Alima didn't move for a moment and Fritz was sure she wasn't going to so he was about to retract his hand when he felt something soft mold into his right hand. His eyes widened as he saw Alima looking away with a blush and slight tears as she looked away, "I promise." Both her hands were holding his as there were chains and one hand couldn't fit into his.

Fritz was frozen for a moment and Alima looked over to the too-silent boy to see him grinning so brightly at her, it nearly made her cry of how great of a person was in front of her, "I promise I'll protect you Alima-chan."

...

_"Was he really that radiant Grandpa?"_

_"Well, this was thousands of years ago so I don't know. But I think Alima loved him very much, as a brother of course. He was always there for her. Fritz took beatings for her, made sure they weren't sold, and protected the two of them by fighting in her stead when he could in the gladiator arena. But one day-"_

_"What do you mean 'but one day'?"_

_"Let me keep going?"_

_Nevaeh blushed, "I'm sorry Grandpa, please keep going."_

_He nodded, "Well, as I was saying, he was always there for her, protecting the two of them and making sure the two weren't that noticed, but enough that they weren't sold off on an auction and kept in the custody to make money for the slave traders. But one day, everything came crashing down."_

_"How?"_

...

"You promised."

"..."

"You said you'd stay with me."

"..."

"You said that you weren't going anywhere without me."

"..."

"You left me anyways."

"..."

"You said you'd break the two of us out, so why is it only me?"

"..."

"You freed me, you broke my chains, but why didn't you break yours?"

"..."

"Why aren't you answering me."

"..."

"You're the more important one. You were just like the candle light, you know that?"

"..."

"I know you were the one who was loved by the Rukh, so why did you let yourself die?"

"..."

"You shouldn't be there. I should be in your place. Don't you dare go Fritz!"

"..."

"Why did you get in front of me?"

"..."

"Why were you the one to fall."

"..."

"You could have left without me. I wasn't that important. I know that, so why did you do it?"

"..."

"A-Answer me.. Please."

Rain pitter-pattered on the girl, who was now seven years old and had cut her hair. Bruises, scrapes, scratches, scars and wounds were all scattered around her lithe body. Alima was on her knees, in front of a smiling dead body, a corpse without a soul, with no Fritz there to tell her it was going to be alright.

She sobbed silently, petting his head, raking her hands through his hair like she had done so many times before when she was bored. Her brother, her savior, her world, her everything was now gone. Just in a moment, he was taken away from her. She never even got to say goodbye to him, but he smiled as he saw her, his eyes shining with an emotion she didn't know. Blood was all over his torso and was still rapidly rushing out.

Why, why of all people, did it have to be Fritz?

He was the one who should have lived. He was the one who would change the world. This cruel, sickeningly beautiful world. He was going to have an impact on it, so why did he have to jump in the way of the blade. Of all places, why did it have to strike straight through his body? Through his life? Why was life so short? Why did the Rukh take him away?

The sobs grew in intensity as she remembered when he had first smiled at her, called her 'Alima-chan', teased her relentlessly, took beating for her, took the blame for her, told her everything would be okay, when he said they could be together forever. He even _fought in the coliseum to keep them together._ She found her voice and forced it quickly to be strong as she spoke, unwilling to let this one chance go to talk with him.

"You didn't keep your promise you idiot. You need to stay with me. You promised and I won't forgive you if you don't get up right now. You're an idiot. How can you keep your promise if you die right now? I seriously won't forgive you Fritz. Come on, I'll even call you 'nii' if you wake up. Don't leave me here alone, you outrageous idiot. You can't let that candle light stop. You know, since you died, more fireflies are probably going to come out and play. You need to see the fireflies at least. You told me you'd never seen one before right? So let's go.. Let's go see th-the fir-fireflies..."

She felt her voice stop in her throat that constricted. Alima was unable to make another noise as she looked at his face. It was so peaceful, so calm, so serene, so Fritz.

Alima faked an impatient sigh and forced her voice out and to be as haughty as possible, "Well, I guess I can forgive you this time, but don't do it again okay?"

She sounded desperate as she heard herself speak and chided herself. She didn't speak again as he stayed unresponsive, his body cold.

Alima didn't know how much time had passed, but she knew it was well passed four hours as bugs started to eat at Fritz's dead body. She stood up on shaky feet and said her last words to him before she walked into the forest, "I'll never forget you.. Fritz-nii. You were the biggest idiot I ever know."

_I'll never forget you._

Then she was gone.

* * *

**Edit: So from here on, the chapters will be rewritten, but be vaguely similar to what they are now. Very, very vaguely similar to what they are now.**


	3. Disgusting Slave

**...I have a problem. I can't stop writing chapters for this story! I need a doctor, someone help!**

**Well anyways, disclaimer is in the first chapter. I hope you enjoyed the last chapter and will enjoy this one just as much! :D I was going to add Yunan in here and some certain aspects of Magi that _makes it Magi_, but I deleted it and redid the last half. Seriously hope you guys like!**

**I'm surprised I already have favorites, reviews, and follows. It's simply amazing guys!**

**Thanks to those who reviewed (Mitsuyuki-Hime), followed (Mitsuyuki-Hime), and added my story to their favorites (kani-leek-lover, Mitsuyuki-Hime)!**

**Anyways, to the reviews!**

**Mitsuyuki-Hime~  
Thank you for the positive criticism. It just popped into my head when I woke up and just _had_ to write the idea down. Now I can't even stop writing! And really? Well, now I can see the resemblance between Yunan and the grandfather, but as it was hinted in the first chapter, the actual Magi story had happened thousands of years ago... but maybe he is. :P Who knows what I might pull in here.  
And yeah, she has the mental capacity of a twelve to thirteen year old at the time, but I think in this chapter, her true age shows throughout part of it. She gains mental age quickly, so adapting to new conditions is easy for her and thinking is quite simple, but also quite complex for the girl. And yeah, Sinner is rubbing off on me with the sadism to my OC, but worry naught! Fritz will never be forgotten! He's even the cover... :3 And by Oliver, do you mean 2P England or someone else? Anyways, he has an important role so you'll see him... sometime... later... soon... I don't know which chapter, but he'll reappear... or maybe not. Who knows how cruel I may be to poor Alima-chan. :P**

* * *

_"She didn't know what to do. She couldn't think straight for a while. The only person to ever care for her was now dead. All she knew was that she needed to do something. She was sold quickly in an auction, but still was kept in Rei-"_

_A series of knocks came to the door, "Dad, Nevaeh, it's time to eat. Would you like to eat in the room or come out and join us?" It was a feminine voice that tinkled like bells with a hint of sarcasm in her last sentence._

_Grandfather put a hand up to stop Nevaeh from saying something rash to her mother, "Synthia, I'm getting a little tired with my age creeping up on me. I hope you don't mind letting Nevaeh continue her conversation with me and eat in here, will you?"_

_The other side of the door went silent for a moment before a strained "Of course" came through, quick steps heard outside of the Grandfather's door. He sighed and looked at the gawking girl, "Now, shall we continue as we eat?"_

_Nevaeh nodded eagearly, "Yes, I want to know how Alima-sama gets through all of this. She's so... her story is so mind-warping already."_

_The old man chucckled, "Of course, I was awed like you when I first heard this story. I still get intrigued by the woman today. She turns into quite the character."_

_Nevaeh smiled, "I'm sure she does."_

_The two ate in a peaceful silence and Nevaeh was left to mull in her thoughts._

_She wondered what it would be like to meet her, if she could come into contact with Rukh, if she could meet her just once and talk with her. She was thirsting for knowledge, reminding her of the first Imperial Prince of Kou. Nevaeh always forgot who's name was who's except for Kougyokou since they were all so similar, no matter their different personalities._

_The same person came to knock at the door, Grandfather beckoning them inside. On the other side of the door was a woman with dark brown hair that reached her waist and waved lazily, light brown eyes underneath her thick fringe that covered her forehead and immediately stopped at her eyebrows. She held a platter with two plates filled with Indian curry and brown rice, making Nevaeh lick her lips, "Thank you mom. This looks amazing." She gave her a giant smile, wiping the irritated expression on the woman's face, "Well dad, Nevaeh, you two have fun okay? Dad, don't tell her weird things that'll make her go crazy like you, okay?"_

_He nodded and she left with a relieved smile on her face and a hug to her father. As she closed the door behind her the old man grumbled, "I'm not crazy so nothing I say to you will make you go crazy either. That child of mine..." Nevaeh giggled. Her family relations were small, but their small family made up for it with crazy antics and new things all the time, making sure everyone knew everything going wrong with each other. It was annoying, but it also constructed a bond most families didn't have, even with fifty relatives._

_They finished their food roughly around the same time in twenty minutes and Nevaeh's Granfather stretched his arms and legs, "Well, I guess you want me to continue with the story."_

_Nevaeh nodded eargerly, making her grandfather chuckle, "Alright, I get it. So, she had made herself gain a new last name, Fritz's, and had been sold to another who only cared for her enough to eat and survive. She was in the arena everyday, hoping that one day, she'd become strong enough to get rid of the chains that held her down, to not fight for every breath she breathed, but it wasn't that easy. And what was happening to her, scared her. She was changing._

_"Her first kill wasn't all that easy, but it was easy for her to stomach. It scared her how she didn't care. It made her feel Fritz had died in vain, letting a child who didn't even value others enough to wallow when they died. It made her laugh the first time she killed, blood poured all over her as she laughed. As she killed more, hunted for more blood, she was quickly nicknamed the 'icy blood thief' from how quickly she went for as much blood as she could and from her dubbed 'love for it' along with her cold attitude towards the dead._

_"In truth, she hated it. She hated the name, she hated the blood. She hated the dead bodies. And she hated how she didn't care when they died. It made her feel disgusted with herself."_

...

Alima took a breath as she smelled the heavy, copper-like metallic fragrance fill the air. It was like an invisible fog as it cloaked around her body. The sword in hand was now on the floor, looking at the now dead body in front of her. A scowl pushed up onto her face as she quickly kicked it as hard as she could, flipping it to the nearby wall before falling limply face down.

She didn't want to look at the broken body. The copper-gold hair that reached their now closed blue eyes. That stupid smile that stretched across the boy's face as he had died, knowing he wouldn't be tied to Earth any longer. It made her sick at how he looked so much like Fritz, how she had to pierce a blade through his body and kill him.

Why, why didn't she feel any remorse for killing? It didn't make any sense. She's seen people break down, lose themselves, feel guilt, pain, try to get the blood off of them as best as they could the first time they did so. Even after the first time.

It was a painful death as well, making it even worse. And even worse, was how he looked like Fritz. She didn't leave unscathed, but they weren't as painful as what the dead body in front of her had to go through.

What was wrong with her. This didn't feel right, but it didn't feel wrong. She was going crazy. She knew it. She didn't even feel disgusted when blood first splayed on her skin. No, it made her feel fascinated by the blood. She didn't feel guilt as she watched pain contort on people's faces. There was definitely something wrong with her.

She was like stone.

Alima was terrible.

Fritz would be disgusted at what she'd just done, no matter if she did it unknowingly.

It would be because of her lack of emotions.

Disgusting, disgusting just so _disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgusting, disgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdisgustingdi__sgustingdisgustingdisgustingd-_

Alima ignored the cheering crowd.

She was a monster. First killing Fritz when he tried to protect someone like her. Then killed a slave who had put in because of their disgusting master.

She was worse than those slave drivers and owners.

And Alima didn't care. Instead, she laughed.

She was the dark she always talked about. There was no light inside of her.

She was what she told Fritz about. She was the one who wiped out that once source of light, that once firefly who would've called out all the rest.

Alima was a terrible person and she didn't care.

Alima didn't look at the body as she went back inside, a blank look on her face and sealing her emotions inside her. Sealing the cries of the child inside of her that threatened to come out under lock and key.

...

_"T-That terrible! How dare they do such things-"_

_"Calm down Nevaeh, I haven't told you the entire part of this... matter yet."_

_"...There's more."_

_"Yes."_

_"She'll go through more pain."_

_"Yes."_

_"Wil she live."_

_"Yes."_

_"Then I apologize Grandpa, I overreacted."_

_"There's no need. I reacted like you did as well when I first heard this story. Now, as I was saying. She had gone back..."_

...

Alima stared at the man in front of her. He had long silver hair that was tied to the left of his face in a bow-like fashion, a prominent mustache atop his upper lip. The man, who called himself 'Shambal Ramal', was now in front of her with a grin, "You.. bought me?"

He nodded, his crossed arms now untangling to fall at his sides, "I did."

"Why?" Her eyes were hard, nearly glaring at him, but she quickly discarded that in fear of a beating from the unknown man.

"Your eyes," Alima furrowed her eyebrows. Her eyes? Yes, they were an unnatural shade of orange, but it really wasn't anything to go by. Shambal elaborated, seeing the confusion on her face, "Your eyes reminded me of someone I know. Someone who had the promise and potential of something great, but had never seen it."

She didn't question him any further, instead looking at the ground as she always had done with her other.. owner. "Look at me," Alima obeyed his orders and looked up to look into his eyes. Why were they so soft? Was he not another who- "I'm freeing you."

Alima jumped, eyes wide, "W-What?" She couldn't hold the surprise in. "Why would you- I'm only a slave who lives for fighting! Why didn't you save the others who'd their lives in front of them, but were chained down by those people! I'm nothing. I have nothing to live for-"

"Isn't that because you haven't found something to live for? How would you know there was nothing in store for you if you never got the chance to do something? You have potential, and I'm not going to ignore it," His eyes shined as he looked at the girl, a girl who hadn't even come to turn ten, that looked at him with such eyes that showed years beyond her own. "You will be free, but I want you to be part of the Yambala Gladiators."

She narrowed his eyes at him, "I will be free, but part of a gladiator group that you yourself own?"

He nodded, "Like I said, I wish to train you and for you to be trained without people becoming suspicious, I want you to become a gladiator for me to pay for it. You will get pay, you will have a dwelling, you will have all the necessities needed for a growing boy like you, and you will be free in a year's time. You can choose to stay with us if you wish, or leave us and never come back." Alima searched his eyes, looking for anything that would show a hint of a lie. There was none, just sheer determination and promise.

She bit her lip unconsciously and stayed silent for a while before she spoke, "So you're going to take me on as an apprentice..?"

Shambal shrugged, "Well, you can put it that way if you want, but I'll warn you now. I'm not going to go easy on you to bring out your potential."

Alima nodded. _It's not like there's any potential to be dealt with._

* * *

Omake: You're a Boy

"Fritz," Alima spoke out as the older boy hummed, "What is it Alima-chan?"

The girl sighed in exasperation, not bothering to tell him to stop any longer before she asked, "What is that thing between your legs?"

He suddenly stiffened. The girl, who was sitting on his lap, was now facing him and asking him about _what she was unknowingly sitting on_. "A-Ah, what do you mean Alima-chan..?"

Fritz shouldn't have asked that. _He should not have asked that._

Alima scooted back a little ways and poked it, making him squeal in surprise, "This thing."

"Alima-chan, don't touch that!" He whined as he tried to move her off his legs. The four year old huffed, "Then tell me what it is and why I don't have one."

He bit his lip. He forgot she was a girl with him having her hair cut short so that it didn't even touch her neck. Fritz sighed before answering the girl, "This Alima-chan, i-is a p-p-p-p-p-pen-penis." His face was red by the time he said it, but his eyes were staring directly at hers with embarrassment and as much seriousness that he could bring up. He put his hands on her small shoulders, "Now Alima-chan, the only reason why you don't have one is because you're still to young. You start to grow this," At 'this', Fritz pointed at his, "when you're thirteen. Okay?"

Alima made a face, "So then.. Am I a girl or a boy?"

Fritz mentally kicked himself and looked at her with a serious face, "You're a boy, no matter what people say. You don't have one yet because you're too young and you were born with a girly face."

He flinched as she poked at the muscle through the cloth with her two fingers again. "Fritz."

"Yes Alima?"

"Why is your 'p-p-p-p-p-pen-penis'," He felt his eye twitch as she unintentionally made fun of him, "moving?"

Fritz quickly pushed her off, "I-It's nothing, just means I need to use the bathroom Alima-chan!"

_Damn puberty for doing this to him!_

* * *

**Edit: So yeah, different from what happened. A LOT different. And one thing: FRITZ ISN'T A PEDOBEAR. HE'S JUST GOING THROUGH THE FIRST STAGES OF PUBERTY WHERE ANYTHING THAT TOUCHES HIM LIKE THAT KINDA MAKES HIM WANNA DO THE DIRTY. Anyways, LOLZ for Alima. At least this shows why she thinks she's a guy.**


	4. Feel like a Monster

**I'm back! I actually fell asleep halfway writing this since it was so late at night. Ahahaha..ha... Anyways, it's still pre-cannon. Sorry if this is a bit vague in some areas. I want to know what you guys think, so tell me by review, PM, favorites, or follows. It shows me you want more. :3**

**Thanks to those who followed (ILovepenguins24), and added my story to their favorites (Otaku2448, ILovepenguins24)!**

**Anyways, to the story!**

* * *

"You stance is unbalanced!"

"Yes!"

"Faster!"

"Yes!"

"Your left side thigh is vulnerable to an attack like that! Cover it if you're going to use that move!"

"Yes!"

"Don't get distracted by others, watch your opponent!"

"Yes!"

"Don't pull back your strikes, make them quick and lethal!"

"Yes!"

"Aim for their pressure points and organs!"

"Yes!"

"That's enough for today."

"Yes," Alima gave a bow to Shambal as sweat dripped from his short hair, "Thank you for today!"

He rolled his eyes, "It's already been nearly a year. Stop thanking me everytime we spar.." Shambal went to ruffle her hair, but as usual, she jumped backwards. He sighed in false exasperation, "So stop bowing and calling me 'sir', 'sire', 'mister', and everything else and go take a shower!" He gave her a grin as she looked at him with a blank face.

"Yes!"

Shambal watched the boy run to the showers, a smile starting to grace his lips as he watched him do so. He was a quick learner and was only- Shambal blinked. After all this time, he'd never asked how old he was or when his birthday was, did he? The male smacked himself for his stupidity.

He walked to the bathroom he was using, away from the training area in his plot. With no doubt, Alima was taking a shower. The running water proved it.

Shambal knocked on the door, "Alima, I'm coming in."

He opened the door to see Alima nude and... He quickly slammed the door closed, surprising the boy behind i-. No, he shook his head, a look of horror on his face, not a boy. _Definitely not a boy_.

"Sir," Oh god, how the hell did he not notice before? Her face was quite sharp and had a bit of a deep voice, yes, and he had bought the child male clothing that fit hi-her perfectly fine, but for Solomon's sake her name was freaking Alima and her voice was still quite high! "Sir, are you alright?"

Shambal quickly snapped out of it, "Y-Yes, I'm fine."

"Then why did you slam the door, sir?"

He tried not to scream. Was she mad or just highly oblivious? "Alima," He started slowly, "What sex are you?" Maybe he was just imagining things, maybe he was just forgetting to look down and thought that _Alima didn't have a dick_. That could be possible. Yes, he was sure that was what had occurre-

"Male of course," He sighed in relief, "Oh, you must have looked and saw that. Don't worry, Fritz said I'll grow one when I'm older."

Shambal quickly slammed his face into the wall in front of him multiple times, crying to Solomon. Not only was that boy a girl, h- she was oblivious to things like how gender worked. And who was this Fritz? Was he her friend or someone she was forced to kill?

He sighed. He had to think about it later. Shambal first needed to get things straight to her... But how the hell was he supposed to do that?"

Shambal wasn't a girl himself, so how in the name of Solomon was he supposed to show her that she was not a boy? Shambal groaned in pain. She was going to be a worse pain in the ass now, wasn't she.

...

_"..So Alima never knew she was a girl? Even though she grew long hair before?"_

_"In those times, males with long hair wasn't all that uncommon. And she figured it made her look more.. she figured it was an aspect people liked so she was forced to grow it at the time with her family."_

_"..But Fritz... He told her that she was going to grow a penis when she was older?"_

_Her Grandfather nearly burst into laughter, but held it in, "Yes, he actually did."_

_"Fritz is too overprotective of her."_

_"But it worked out since she was never raped, no?"_

_"...Please never say that word again. It makes me uncomfortable when my _grandfather_ says it right in front of me."_

...

"Alima.."

"Yes sir?"

"How old are you? And when is your birthday?"

"It was a month ago sir. Why would you ask such a meticulous question? And I'm nine years old sir."

Shambal heaved the urge to strangle the girl for her obliviousness but decided against it, "We should go out and celebrate! I know it's late, but we can still have fun for your birthday!"

Alima made a face, "Why would I do such a frivolous thing for something as common as my birthday?"

He gave her a patronizing look, "Now Alima, birthdays are important and it's not frivolous. You need a break birthdays are the days people are born. Without them, they wouldn't be here."

She snorted, "Yes, just as the name consisting of the words 'birth' and 'day' describe the meaning of the entire word so terribly, one would think it was not the word used for it, but for the days of their death."

Shambal pulled her cheeks, "Don't get cheeky you little brat. We're going to go tomorrow, so dress accordingly to going out."

She pulled a blank face, knowing she wouldn't get anywhere arguing with him. She was also still indebted to him after all, "Yes sir, just don't gamble today. I"

...

Alima did her best. She really did. She tried to live up to Shambal's expectation of being a normal child for a day. She didn't know how normal was supposed to be, but she knew for a fact that children were supposed to smile and be happy. She didn't want to pretend though, so she just kept a blank face as she met with Shambal outside his house.

"Alima, what do you think you're wearing!?"

She gave him a questioning look. Why would he ask that? Alima was wearing a black long sleeved tunic that showed parts of the top of her shoulders and slung down to her collarbones, folding there a few times before going straight down to her hips. Her pants the typical Arabian puffy traditional ones that were white going down to her sandal-adorned feet, hugging the tops of her ankles so they wouldn't flail around. Whatever skin showed at the top of her tunic was covered by bandages that went up to stop at her neck, her hair as messy as usual. A blue rope was tied around her waist loosely multiple times, holding the tunic down and her pants from being easily pulled down, a short sword sheathed and hanging down on her left side given by Shambal for her birthday earlier today.

She watched in groan in irritation, something he did a lot, but gave her a smile right after, "Well, is there somewhere you want to go?"

Alima's eyes lit up a bit, her face not changing except for the small twitch her lips gave, "Can we just walk around? I want to see how Reim is like."

He blinked, but gave her a grin, "Why not."

...

_"Alima had a lot more fun that she originally thought she would as she went out that day. Shambal had lost her a few times, seeing her admiring something from food to people making things as entertainment to draw people into buying things and even people interacting in general. She was curious of everything around her._

_"That day she had fun with Shambal as well, playing games and eating, talking. She had all sorts of new experiences she would have never had without someone there, but for some reason, when she sat down, she felt... as if what she was doing then wasn't enough."_

_"Wasn't enough?"_

_"Yes, it seemed, she felt chained down to Shambal for some reason. No matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't forget the fact that Shambal was doing this for her potential, something that she felt wasn't there at all."_

_"So Alima wanted to do something for him?"_

_"Such a smart girl Nevaeh, but that wasn't all. She wanted to travel around the world one place to another, just like she'd promised Fritz sometime ago. And for that to happen, she needed to leave after the year ended._

_"So she got into more battles, trained further into the night, and got better at her improving magoi manipulation."_

...

She promised she wouldn't kill anymore, but she did it.

Alima didn't mean to. She never meant for anything to happen, but it seems everything happens to her that she never meant for to happen.

A small chuckle rose from her throat as she looked at the tangle of limbs in front of her, "Ha. Haha, hehahahaha. Hahahahaha, hehahahahaha. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA, AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

She couldn't help it. She was a monster.

She's a harbinger of death, no one could stop it. Not even herself.

Alima's name is wise? Then why couldn't she stop even death from coming to everyone around her.

She wasn't special, she wasn't loved, she wasn't different, she wasn't human, she was just... there.

…

_"But she isn't a monster. I bet she... just didn't know what to feel about the entire thing. I mean, she was still just a child."_

_"That may be true, but as Shambal had figured out, Alima was a quick learner and took everything in around her, causing her mental age to rapidly increase, though her body aged with time's side. She felt as if she'd lived for at least more than thrity years at the time."_

_"She's still a child though. It shows in her actions. You can't just go and live life like that without a reason."_

_"Nevaeh, you have to understand, Alima's age had increased drastically after Fritz's death. She is guilt stricken by it, but does her best to live life to the fullest extent because he died for that sole reason. Now, a little time skip here and I'll come back to it later on."_

_"Why?"_

_"There isn't much information on what she had done at this time. You can imagine what you wish."_

...

It's been two years since had seen Shambal. It's been two years since she'd last fought in the colosseum and won fights for Shambal and payed him back, also freeing slaves around, whether they be Fanalis or normal civilians around the city. It been two year since she gave them all the money she'd gained before fighting a few more times and leaving. It's been three years since she'd been freed (two if you count being part of the Yambala Gladiators being tied down).

It's been four years since Fritz died.

Alima forgot how it felt to be around somewhere for over a few days, especially a few years.

She's been travelling by foot from city to city, from country to country, from continent to continent (by boat sometimes). She's met all sort of people, fought all sorts of people and beings, had the time of her life. She figured out she was a girl when she'd stayed with her first caravan and had her first menstrual experience. It was embarrassing, well, it was the mildest word she could find for the rush of overwhelming emotions then.

Since then, she wore the bandages not only around her shoulders and neck, but around her entire chest, stopping right above her belly button. Her outfit had only changed slightly, her sleeves going to her elbows now, her bandages covering her arms from her upper forearm to her wrist, her facial features sharper along with her eyes getting a bit smaller, getting rid of the innocent look to them as they rose upwards a bit more. Her height had risen since then as well, now being 5'4 at the age of 11.

Alima sighed raking a hand through her short hair. Her voice had also deepened instead of rising like usual girls. At least it wasn't deep enough to be called fully male's. It sounded a bit androgynous, though on the deeper side of things. Her hair had changed tints again as well, now nearly looking black, her eyes more of a mix of dull orange and a brighter version, making it seem as if they were alive.

She had woken up from what made the earth rumble, a building appearing out of nowhere next to where she laid.

Now, she had to figure out what it was and why of all places, it had risen next to where she slept in a tree.

* * *

Omake: Blood..?

"UWAH!" A yell woke Alima up as she yawned, her eyes opening lazily. "A-Alima-kun, y-you're bleeding!"

She jumped as she heard the boy next to her yell, making the others jump wide awake and look over. Alima furrowed her brows. Bleeding? She looked down to see nothing of the sort, just some stickiness on her pants... and red around her thighs on the white sheets around her. "W-What is this..?"

The boy next to her, Ziang, looked at her with wide, scared eyes and when the men saw where she was bleeding, they gaped before barking out in laughter.

Alima looked at them confusedly, "W-what?"

One of them gave her a playful grin, "Oi Alima, didn't you say you were a guy?"

She nodded, a confused look in her eyes. "Then why are you having your period?" The guys couldn't breath as they all dropped to the floor, their laughter getting louder.

A woman quickly slipped the heavy cloth covering the band wagon open and glared inside, "Why are all of you laughing like hyenas in hea- Oh my lord, I didn't believe it when Sheila had told me that you were not a boy. I thought she was just jealous a boy was prettier than her!"

Alima flushed, "S-S-Sheila-san _is_ prettier than me Lola-san, please don't s-say such things. And wh-what do you mean I'm a girl." Her eyes were wide rather than her usual half-lidded ones, showing how alarmed she was.

Lola giggled, "Well, why don't I show you. Your chest will also be growing soon." Alima furrowed her brows even further towards her nose, "Those were breasts..?" She then muttered, embarrassed, "I thought I was just getting fat."

Another round of laughter went all around, and the only one who had no idea what was going on was the scared, innocent, five year old Ziang, who was scared shitless now. He was curled up in the corner, looking incredulously at the scene.

..He wished he knew what was going on.

* * *

**Edit: Yeah, so I've decided to add omakes and just have some humor added into this stuff.. or at least try. Hope you guys enjoyed! ^^**


	5. My Firefly

**Hey guys. Damn, I love writing this story too much! Three days and five chapters, over 10,000 words, and a hell lot of research on this shit.. I have too much free time.**

**Well, thank you to those who read the story, thank you to Mitsuyuki-Hime for reviewing, and I hope you enjoy this chapter! I was seriously contemplating on whether to make Alima a magician or a household member at this time, but I got an idea for the future so here you go!**

**Response to:  
Mitsuyuki-Hime~  
****Did I really use Fritz and Fritz both? Oh jeez, that's embarrassing. It's actually Fritz but it seems I've been using Fritz. I've fixed it now. Thanks for the heads up there! And yeah, it's just a bit irritating to him for her to call him that since all he did was free her. I've actually seen Shambal Ramal used once or twice as a minor character in fiction in other sites, but barely and he was a cool dude who needed more screen time shit so I said to myself: why the hell not.  
And yes, Alima is very ignorant to things like sexual thoughts, etc., but not to the world dangers like bandits and con-artists as an example. She was never taught about it and Fritz wanted to protect her from others who would try to.. do something or whatever. And it isn't really told when Shambal meets Toto so I left her out. In my mind, she gets there a few days after she leaves (strange isn't it :3). Also, about Shambal's gambling habits... Alima usually doesn't go out, focused on her training to become strong enough to repay Shambal instead. So, when Shambal has asked her what she wanted to do, she got excited of learning about Reim and what a normal society there is like. And happy birthday! It's 12:01 right now and so yeah. Took an entire day to write this chapter. 0.0 ...is it just me or does that face look like when someone is trying to make a straight face in the manga.. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter Mitsuyuki-Hime!**

* * *

"Who will be king?"

Orange eyes glowed as the dim light appeared in the black room and many orbs of light appeared in the room, showing all sorts of metal treasury, a deep but lazy voice emanating from the first orb that appeared. A dark blue skinned spirit appeared with closed eyes, a serene look on his handsome thin face. Dark lashes and tresses accompanied them, his body chiseled from training and fights. He wore chain bracelets around his wrists that connected to rings on his fingers and multiple thin silver chains around his neck that went to stop a bit below his collarbones on top of a white sash that laid gently from his left shoulder to the end of his right side, hiding part of a black tattoo of multiple horses on it that were all rising and kicking their front hooves into the air. His left eye had a thin scar at the tip of it that went from the top of his eyebrow to his cheekbone that looked a bit like a white mixed with light hints of blue. He opened his rain drop- like eyes to show black irises as dark as night that looked around to land on the person in front of them directly, orange clashing with black.

"I am Cimeries, djinn of reflection and integrity, the 66th djinn of the 66th dungeon," He peered at her through his lazy, half-lidded eyes that reminded her of her own, not opening fully. The male djinn's eyes narrowed slightly, "You... wish to be king?"

The girl in front of him made a disgruntled sound, "King? Why would I wish to be king?"

He gave her his full attention as he slightly opened his eyes, "Oh?" He leaned forwards, "You don't wish to change the world? To be King and get rid of all this madness, this pain, this bloodshed?" He paused, "Do not wish to do right to the wrong?"

"What is there to right? We're all mad, we all feel pain at some point, and bloodshed is inevitable as much as living is," She peered up at him, "Tell me, what is this place and why do you ask such a thing like if I wish to be king when there is no other that is as ill-suited to the job as I?"

His eyes opened a bit wider, to be fully open, his face looking as if he'd just found an interesting book that he wanted to know everything about, "You answer my questions without a thought and you come into this place without knowing what it is. You also say that you are the most ill-suited for the job of being king. Why did you come here?"

"Wouldn't you want to know why a building rises from the ground out of nowhere so nearby that the ground beneath you threatens to break? And I speak the truth of myself, nothing more, nothing less."

His mouth quirked upwards, "You're an interesting one, I'll answer your question of this place. This is a dungeon, a building where I, a djinn, reside to wait for a person worthy enough to become a king candidate. He will be one with enough potential to rule the world under one and will gain the treasures of this roo- Hey, where are you going," An eyebrow twitched irritatedly, "You asked a question and I'm answering it now."

The girl turned to look at him with eyes that made him feel the need to crush her, "I don't wish for such things like glory, money, or anything as superficial of the sorts. The wish to rule everyone under one is absolutely absurd. People are people. They will be as separate as they are one. No one will be as mindless to want to be under one person who rules all than one person who rules none. One who rules none will have no ambition to destroy the ones dear to him while one who rules all will have ambitions for the future and unable to regard all."

She turned to face him fully and the djinn got a good look at the child in front of him. Around the age 11, but her eyes showed wisdom of someone far older than she if her words didn't convince him enough already, no matter how much those words irritated him. Her body and voice were androgynous, leaning towards the male spectrum, but the djinn was an intelligent being. Her body was tall and lithe, but her face showed her young age. Short ink-like black blue hair messily was put atop her head, bangs brushing her eyes to make her look lazy, her eyes not doing any better as they were half-lidded with thin dark lashes around them. A sword was at the side in ropes that wrapped loosely around her waist and laid at her hips, glinting and gaining his attention. Her clothing were also a strange mix of light and dark colors, one that fit her confusing personality.

"You say you do not wish to be king, that you do not have the skills to do so or the will to become one, but you have defeated this dungeon accordingly and have gained my interest. You suggest the Rukh do not favor you. Why is that?"

She narrowed her eyes as she read between the lines, though quickly acted as if she didn't noticed and shrugged, "I know there are people with a hell lot more charisma, stronger bodies and minds, infinitely better luck, stronger wills, quicker wit, and a wish to protect those all around them, all attributes to become a King. I am not one of them. I am just a lost child who's making her own road, not a person who is to become King. A King Candidate is someone who needs the will of steel, the courage of a billion men, the smile as bright as the sun so that people will be drawn to him, and needs to have a reason. I do not have a reason," The girl rose her hands from her sides to spread and make a straight line across, "If you look, I am not one of them. As I said, a King needs all of those, but they also must be loved by the Rukh, something I am most definitely not."

Cimeries barked out laughter that echoed out through the room as the girl let her arms fall to her sides, confusing the soul, "You are an interesting one. What you don't see in yourself will be your demise unless you see it yourself young one." He gave her a smirk, "Sorry child, no matter what you may wish, you are one that is liked, if not loved, by the Rukh. You have an iron fist, unbending will, uniquely hidden charisma, a strong mind that can confuse one's enemies, quick wit, courage of a billion men, and have a reason to live, do you not? You have finished this dungeon and have gotten to the treasure room where I reside without death taking you away. You are my King."

She gave a small frown, "But I don't wish for power."

He gave her a cryptic smile, "Child, you'll see that power goes to the ones who do not wish for it. For those who do not wish for it are the most suited for it. Now, your name?"

"Alima Nader."

His eyes held that emotion that she couldn't decipher once more, "Well then," He bowed to her, "My king."

She watched as he disappeared into a mist, going into her sword at her side, a six-pointed star appearing in a circle on the hilt.

The building started to crumble around her, but she was given the privilege of getting out unscathed., all the metal from the treasure room in white sacks as she appeared on top of the rubble which used to be something called a 'dungeon'.

Alima looked down at her sword hanging on the rope and felt it become... lighter somehow to her though it withheld an inhuman entity the size of a large building inside it. The warmness seeping out of it calmed her down as it dwindled to become as cool as it was before. She looked around and blinked when she saw a sash that was similar to the one Cimeries was wearing when she first saw him. It was the color of silver and felt as soft as silk, though it looked as durable as the metal itself. As Alima looked closer at it, she saw glints of long strings of silver intertwined with the actual cloth itself along with hints of small gold here and there. The silver shined in the light, making the sash look like it had tendrils of veins on it as gold was barely seen even then. She put it around her left shoulder to hide the short sword she held at her hips slightly.

Alima looked at the bags around her. Now how was she going to get these out of the giant trench she was i- "What, the dungeon's gone!"

Alima's head turned around lazily behind her to see a male with long purple hair and golden eyes, around his early twenties, simple clothing on with multiple pieces of jewelry and a turban atop his head of tall height. Next to him was a child about a year older than her with rough red eyes and hair, a piercing under his lip, a sleeveless white tunic on with a sash around his waist, gold bracelets on both his wrists and ankles.

The older of the two, who had yelled out before, looked down to see her and gaped, "Hey, did you defeat this dungeon?" Alima looked at him once more to have eye contact and nodded, wary of the child-like man above her. His eyes glinted and he quickly jumped down, the boy behind him following him as quick as possible.

He quickly walked towards her, making her turn around to face the intimidatingly cheerful man. He leaned in towards her face, scrutinizing her with creased eyes. She looked at him blankly and after a moment, blew in his face.

The man snapped out of his stupor and leaned back, "Ah sorry, I was just surprised that such a cute kid would get to the dungeon before me." He gave her a giant grin and put out a hand, "My name is Sinbad and this is Masrur. What's your name?"

Alima didn't glance at his hand and instead answered, looking at the boy, Masrur, "Alima Nader." She felt as if she knew why the boy was so rough, why he was so wary when his partner wasn't of her. Surely, a little bit of it would have rubbed off on hi- Ah. She tilted her head as she looked at him, recognition flashing through her eyes. The girl then looked over at the man who gave the name of Sinbad and asked him, "Do you want this treasure?"

He gaped at her, "What? No, no, I just wanted to capture this dungeon here. I presume you were the one to do so?" He gave a charismatic smile, forcing her to unconsciously jump back a few feet quickly, "Why do you ask." He reminded her too much of Fritz. That smile... it proved it. His eye shape was similar to his as well, but that didn't mean anything.. did it?

He looked taken aback as she moved and her laid back, but slightly tensed body, explained himself quickly, misunderstanding her thoughts, "Ah, no, I'm not going to hurt you or anything. I promise. You can keep your treasure, you earned it." Ah, that smile was back. It made her feel uncomfortable, How lax he was with a stranger, how he resembled Fritz too much. And that boy.. She spared him a glance, catching his eye immediately. He was a slave, wasn't he? A Fanalis as well. His red eyes glared into her orange ones with a guarded look, as if he was ready to pounce if she made a wrong move at any given moment against him or that Sinbad.

She didn't like the pair. Not at all.

Alima felt... cornered as Sinbad walked over for some reason and quickly darted behind him, two medium sized bags of gold coins scooped up from the ground as she ran off, up the rubble that used to be the dungeon she was just in.

...

_"So she just ran? That doesn't sound like her."_

_"No, Nevaeh, she didn't run. Alima knew he was a dangerous persona with a kind heart, it reminded her of Fritz too much with his smile and with Masrur around her age, it made her feel as if she was looking at a reflection of herself and Fritz, who'd died protecting her."_

_"But Alima still ran."_

_"Nevaeh, Alima didn't run. The Rukh had leaded them to meet, she knew that. So if she left before they were properly acquainted, the Rukh would help them meet again. Alima knew this, so she left for them to meet another time, a time where she wouldn't feel inferior, weak, and open to the man who was similar to Fritz."_

_"I still don't understand why she had left so abruptly."_

_"It was so they could meet again in better circumstances."_

_"What was wrong with the time then?"_

...

"Hey Fritz," A calm wind blew as Alima sat at the top of a tall spruce tree in the middle of a forest, the Sun rising in front of her. Her eyes were wide open this time as she looked at the rising Sun in front of her, "I don't know if you're listening, but happy birthday."

A small gift was wrapped neatly in a blue box, a white ribbon around and tying at the top. She rubbed it with her thumb as she swung her legs, "Sorry I wasn't able to talk earlier. I saw this and thought of you for some reason. It was one of the things I saw at the dungeon I was in.. Can you believe that Cimeries said I was a King Candidate? If I had something to say, it would be that you were more fit, a better candidate than I would ever be. It was hard, and I got hurt, but I got through it while I thought of you. It was kinda fun actually.. Kinda scared me too. If you were there.. I think you would have been chosen. No, I don't 'think', I know so. You didn't deserve to die that day. A-And I'm sorry I never talked to you. I-I was scared. I di-didn't want to be-believe you we-were gone. I just wanted, just wanted you to know... I love you.. so much.. it hurts to think of you. You we-were my brother, my friend. Th-The light to my dark. You-You were my firefly Fritz."

Tears rushed down her face as she hiccuped, "I-I'm sorry Fritz. For crying. F-For living. For hurting people around me." A tear accidentally fell on the box, staining it. "Ah," Alima peered at it through half lidded eyes. She held it out with outstretched arms, a giant grin on her smiling face, eyes closed as she pretended he was there, "Hap-Happy birthday.. Fritz. Yo-You're twenty n-now."

Sobs racked through her toned body as she brought her arms in, arms holding her present to the past boy upwards and above her head as her head lolled into her arms, elbows bent.

"_Thank you,"_

Her eyes widened as she quickly looked up, tears still rushing down her red cheeks as her present was in her lap once more. That voice... it was deeper than she last had heard it and was filled with passion and happiness. It was different, older... but definitely Fritz. Though he wasn't in front of her and all that accompanied her was the wind.

A bright smile adorned her face as she looked at the Sun in front of her, "You shouldn't be thanking me.. After all, you were the one who saved me. Don't get it mixed up, Baka-Fritz."

The wind fluttered around her clothes and through her tresses, leaving a soothing feeling. Her eyes lowered to her present to Fritz and a small, helpless smile appeared on her face, "I'll keep it.. and give it to you when I see you again."

* * *

Omake: Gambling Problem

"Alima~, do you have any money to spare?" Said girl twitched as she tried to ignore the man wriggling like a worm, his body nude. Shambal had taken Alima out to where he'd gambled because of her nagging about not training her, and she'd gotten fed up with all this pointless use of time. "Shut up and move over."

Shambal furrowed his brows, "But Alima, you don't know how to play and you're too yo-"

"I've been watching you for two hours. I know what not to do," Shambal's eye twitched as he moved away in defeat, letting Alima grab the cards. The regal-looking men and women around her snickered in amusement, thinking similar thoughts of how it looked pitiful a child was taking the place of the adult.

A few minutes later, they were gaping at the child who went for 'all or nothing' and won over a hundred pieces of gold. A woman to her left clicked her tongue in dissatisfaction, "You were just lucky." She sneered at the girl when she was ignored.

Half an hour later, she took those words back as Alima won back all of Shambal's things and over half a thousand gold coins. Shambal was prancing around in glee and Alima only got up, leaving the table to quickly trading in the coins for money and leaving the casino while chiding Shambal about too much gambling again as if he were a child asking for too much candy in one day.

Sadly, (for Alima, not Shambal) Alima was taken to the casino every time Shambal went, irritating the hell out of her.

* * *

**Edit: Well, hope you guys liked that little omake. It just popped into mind when thinking about Shambal and Alima's year together and what I haven't talked about along the story line.**


	6. The People Around Me pt 1

**Hey, Ryuu here! Sorry I hadn't updated like I said I would and fooled you guys with that hideous author's note. Hope you guys have no hard feelings? Anyways, I need you guys to know THIS SKIPS A YEAR and there will be a part two to this chapter. Pictures of some of these peeps are in the profile under my 'news' down below. I will review your reviews, favorites, and follows down below. ^^**

**Ryuu**

* * *

"No, why in all of Solomon, would you do that, dane?"

"Shut up, lemme do what I want for once, dayo!"

"Both of you be quiet, I'm trying to read."

"Nee-sama, I'm tired."

"Chibi's right, when are we getting there?"

"Can you both stop being such babies?"

"B-But I'm only six!"

"Yeah, I'm only fifteen!"

"Why do you get the the last piece, dayo!"

"I'm older than you, dane."

"Oi, why don't I get the piece! I _am_ your aunt and technically your superior!"

"Shut up granny, dayo!"

"What did you just call me!"

"Now, now, you guys, let's ca-calm down. Ehehe..."

"SHUT UP!"

"I-I was only tr-trying to hel- WAH! WHY ARE YOU ALL SO MEAN TO ME!"

"Fuck, don't cry, dayo. You're twenty-three for crying out loud!"

"You shouldn't yell at a lady, dane."

"At least I'm trying to do something here!"

"WAH!"

"Seriously, I can't even read a book in peace."

"Nee-sama, my head is starting to hurt.."

"O-Oi, chibi, don't you dare fai- Gah! Damn, now I gotta carry ya! Oi, wake up!"

"..zzz..."

"Dammit Chibi!"

Alima's eye twitched as she heard the commotion behind her, unintentionally letting out a dark wave of aura that flushed them all quiet and froze them, making them look like horrified statues.

The now thirteen-year old turned around to look at them all.

How did it turn out like this?

Alima sighed as the child on her back fell asleep, a mask hiding the bottom portion of his face from view. The breeze started to pick up as she trudged on, the boy's long blonde hair tickling her shoulders and neck, though the bandages were in place as usual.

She thought back to the few hours before and sighed in false exasperation, "You're quite a handful, aren't you?" The boy muttered a few words that fell deaf to her ears before turning silent once more.

_Three hours ago_

Alima slammed the face into the ground with undaunting force. She cursed as she looked around, her orange eyes darting from one corpse to another in the carnage. Her eyes immediately shot over to where she heard rustling and quickly walked over, grabbing the hilt of her sheathed sword. Her face was blank, but her eyes widened in surprise when she saw a small child shivering in fear as he looked at her, his body in a fetal position as he tried to cover up as much of his body as possible. Her eyes quickly went to the scars and wounds on his body, the shackles making a sound she never thought could be so disgusting.

Alima unsheathed her sword, scaring the boy even further as whimpers filled the air along with the stench of heavy blood. She rose her sword before slashing down quickly and looking at her handiwork. The chains were cut and the cuffs around the boy's wrists and ankles fell to the floor, off of his marred skin. Alima saw his eyes widen as he felt nothing hurt him and cautiously look up at the girl who was sheathing her short sword once more.

She crouched down to his level, but he quickly scampered backwards, hitting his back on a tree trunk behind him. Alima bit back a sigh and took a good look at the boy. He was no older that five or six with dark blonde hair that flew everywhere, frightened grey eyes looking at her with uncertainty and confusion. His skin was naturally tanned into a bronze-like color and a scar came from the tip of his ear to the corner of his mouth on the right side of his face that looked deep and already about a year old.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Alima tried to use a soothing tone, but it sounded cold, making the boy flinch. She raked a hand through her hair and sighed. This wouldn't be easy, Fritz was always the sociable one. Hell, even Shambal's kids were less sociopaths than her. _Shambal's freaking kids_. Alima saw him freeze as he realized what she said and looked at her with confusion outweighing fear, "Look, what's your name?"

He looked down quickly and didn't make eye contact with her when he muttered something. She furrowed her brows, "Speak louder." Inwardly wincing at what sounded like an order, she strained her ears to hear his words, " I don't have a name."

Alima frowned, but quickly retracted it, "Well then, how about I give you one?"

His eyes snapped towards her and she restrained her urge to look away, "I want you to be free and was going to take you back to your family, but it seems you don't have one. So I'll give you a name."

The boy's eyes shined slightly, "A name..?"

Alima nodded, "I'll name you Montz, unless you want anothe- Urgh!"

She took a step back as to balance herself as the boy jumped and hugged her around her midriff tightly. Alima bit her lip as he looked at her with tears in his eyes, "Thank you... Nee-san."

.

.

3

2

1

.

"Eh?" Alima looked at him with wide eyes, "EHH!?"

She tried to push him off. For a five year old, he was stronger than he looked, "W-Wait, what do you mean 'Nee-san'?"

Montz gave her a pitiful look, "S-So you're going to leave me a-after naming me? T-That's cruel.."

She was taken aback by his expression and choice of words and shook her hands, "N-no, bu-"

"Yay, you're my nee-san then!"

Alima's eye twitched.

..How did she get into these kinds of situations?

...

"_So, he-Montz I mean, stayed with her?"_

"_Yes, in fact, he was quite good with words and got what he wanted when Alima didn't really mind what he wanted."_

"_Wait, how did he know that she was a girl?"_

"_They say he was a magician, others say he was just guessing, some said he could tell by the sound of her voice. No one really knows how he figured it out."_

"_...For some reason, I don't believe that."_

...

Montz opened his eyes wearily and yawned, a slightly heavy blanket put over his body as he laid down on the floor. He then realized he was alone, scaring him senseless. His breathing started to accelerate as he started to panick. Where was the nice nee-san? Was he wrong about trusting her? Did she disguise her Rukh so well that he couldn't sense what she was actually feeling? No, that wasn't possible, but then why did she leave him alone? Did she change her mind that quickly and leave him because he was useless baggage for someone like her? Maybe she dee-

"Ah, what's a little kid doing here?" Montz jumped, but quickly tried to become as small as possible when he saw a large male in front of him staring at him with a small scowl on his face. He whimpered and tried to get away, but he was roughly grabbed by the hair, forcing him to retaliate with a weak scream. "Hm?" He smirked victoriously as he saw the scars around the boy's wrists and ankles, "It seems the brat used to be a slave." Montz gasped in pain as the older male pulled with more force, "Maybe we could sell you for a bit more- HYAA!"

A sword sliced clean through the wrist of the man so quick that they didn't even see it coming, nevertheless hear anyone, "What do you think you're doing?" Orange eyes looked at them half-lidded that made them look lazy, though her pupils had a slight hardness to them, something that made the two cower in total fear.

A pungent smell entered their senses, making Montz's throat lurch. Aliima looked unaffected though, instead pointing her sword at the man who was wailing on the floor as blood poured out, "You dare try that again, or any of your _comrades_," She spat out the word, "I'll do more than enough damage to make sure you _all_ can't do _anything_ ever again."

The flab-filled man whimpered and tried to get up, but fell on his side. He tried a multitude of times before Alima got sick and tired of watching him, instead slicing his head off. Montz watched in horror as the head rolled over to him, a blank look in their eyes. "A-Ah..." He made a choking noise before throwing up all the pieces of light food Alima had fed him.

The said girl sighed before going over to pat his back when he slapped her hand away from him. His eyes looked at her with mixed emotions of fear, disgust, pain, slight trauma, and other slight things like happiness, thankfulness, but what was most prominent was the lost look in his eyes, the discomfort and all of his trust gone, "Don't touch me."

Her eyes narrowed at the boy, "Montz, do you know why I did that."

He glared at her, "No, and I don't care. You didn't just kill him, no you just _had_ to _cut his hand off before slicing his head off like it were nothing didn't you!_ You're just like them, a monster! You don't even know how to value lives-"

"Then what would you have done," The scent of carnage along with bodily fluids was now forgotten although it laid heavily in the air as he gave her a look, "What would you have done seeing someone you'd just saved from men like him," She started to take small, but meaningful steps towards the boy, "grabbing a fistful of their hair and look at them with money grabbing eyes, ready to sell them into what they had just gotten freedom from. What if they were so scared, looked so abandoned, that they were ready to give up as they screamed in pain," Alima's steps were quickening, "What if that child was only your age and was about to leave this disgustingly intricate world of lies, love, pain, and knowledge? What if," She was in front of him now, a breath away from his face, "What if they were about to be lost without ever having the chance of being found? What if that child was just like you, scared, alone, different, and _special_."

Montz looked at her with teary eyes, making her freeze. She didn't mean to scare the ki- "Oof!" Alima took a step back as she regained her balance and looked down at the boy hugging her thighs with bone crushing strength, "N-NEE-SAMA," She blinked. Did she hear him right? "I PROMISE I WON'T DO THAT AGAIN, I PROMISE ON M-Y LIFE! YOU'RE NOT A MONSTER NEE-SAMA," Nope, it seems she didn't hear incorrectly.. dammit, "I PROMISE, I PROMISE I'LL BE GOOD! J-JUST, JU-WAHHHHH!"

Alima sighed exasperatedly at the child. She just leaves for a few minutes to scout out a town and when she comes back, she kills a slave trader and finds that somehow she made him want to stick to her person even more... such amazing luck she had. (Note the sarcasm.) Now she had to deal with the kid instead of leaving her at Reim with Shambal like she was going to.

"Oi, ch-chotto matte," Alima pushed back the boy as gently as she could and looked at him with wide eyes, "Montz, since," She took a deep breath through her nose and kneeled in front of him, "Since when have your eyes and hair been this crimson color?" His eyes widened, "Eh? He frowned, "What are you talking about nee-san? You're being weird, I'm not a Fanalis."

Alima took out a small compact mirror and gave it to him for him to take. He took it curiously, but quickly dropped it, "W-What?" She bit back a question and pushed it to the back of her mind, instead patting the boy on the head, "Don't worry about how, you can figure it out when you settle down."

He smiled mischievously, "You mean when _we_ settle down." Alima rolled her eyes but gave him a small, barely visible smile, but it got what it was meant to send, making Montz grin widely at her, "You know nee-sama, you look more like a guy when you smile like that, but it's cuter than a girl's." She twitched, "How do you even know this stuff if you were a slave since birth?"

Montz flinched before he gave a secretive smile, "I may be a six-year old slave nee-sama, but I'm not blind." Alima shivered, remembering a certain purple haired man in his early twenties and the boy that was also a Fanalis slave, before snickering. Montz looked at her curiously but she shook her head, deeming it nothing.

It seems now that she and that 'Sinbad' both were quite similar in a way. A spine-shivering shudder made it's way onto her. Yeah, no. That man was made her feel like a child, as if she were five all over again. _And it made her feel disgusting._

...

The doors creaked open and a male of around nearly six foot walked in, red hair flaming behind him and red eyes staring straight. He walked with finesse no one in the slums could ever walk naturally with, and his aura was downright serious. The man, around his very early twenties, bowed before the Emperor before rising up, "Emperor Koutoku."

The elder man in front of him watched his every move, "You've come at the perfect time Kouen." He gestured to the servant maid in the corner to usher out with a sheathed short sword, "Tell me, is this..." Koutoku eyed the five held back prisoners behind him, "yours?"

The first was a male with a scowl on his face around a few years younger than Kouen, with sharp features and dark eyes and hair, though his eyes were a light caramel brown. The second was another male that looked very similar to the boy next to him, most likely a twin, with a shorter, neater hairstyle and darker, milk chocolate eyes. The one in the center was a woman who looked around her mid-twenties with light brown hair and equally light brown eyes, though having a mild need of a growth serum and looked like a small child next to the boys next to her (seriously, she was only around 5'2, 5'3 if she was lucky and the two twins looked around 5'11). These three seemed to be part of a group, though the other two were highly strange and peculiar, but partners of their own.

The boy next to the woman was around fifteen with an average height (he guessed around 5'6, give or take a few centimeters) with the strangest tone of orange eyes that seemed to be half-lidded and messy ink blue hair that nearly looked black on the top of his head as if he never touched it after getting out of bed. The child next to him tried to stay as close with the boy as much as possible as he had a mask that covered half of his face and red eyes and short darker hair.

Kouen stepped over and approached the leather sheathed sword, an interest piquing inside of him. He was about to pick it up when the mood suddenly shifted to a heavier atmosphere, "Don't touch my blade."

It was the strangely colored boy that had spoken and everyone turned to look at him. Some with fear, like the trio right next to them and the soldiers trying not to shake in their boots. Some looked at him with outrage, like the men of the court and the generals around, though the more ignorant ones didn't back off from their obliviousness to the change in atmosphere. Some looked at her with curiosity, like the emperor (though he hid it well), the first prince Kouen (after all, how would such a person have strange coloring and have a connection so strong to a _sword_ and had the guts to tell off the first prince of Kou?), and the boy right next to him that had a glint of excitement in his childish eyes.

One of the ignorant men stood up, "How dare you speak to the royal blood lineage of Kou i-"

"You're quite correct, they only rely on their blood lineage to gain strength in this empire, do they not?"

Another rose in response to quickly rebuttal the boy, "You dare to speak up to one of the wealthiest families in all of Kou!?"

"Wealth, money, paper, it's all the same thing. Just having a large number doesn't mean people should do as they wish for you just because you give them a vast amount."

Again, the teenager quickly countered their words and more started to speak up, irritated of how _cocky _this child was to them, the strongest in their nation. Just a name with some background? Just something you have a lot of that others do not? How dare the little rat tell them what was what. They were the educated ones, the smarter ones.

"Well it seems your education may have been poor in the context of common sense and courtesy since you do not even know how to address me correctly or tell me your name before you ask for my own. Even a snake could do better."

That did it. Everyone burst, forgetting that the emperor was there along with the first prince, forgetting that the child was even a _prisoner on trial_. They didn't notice even when the Imperial Oracle came in through the door. No, all they seemed to care about was their relinquishing pride that was slowly (coughquicklycough) deteriorating in front of this, this _vermin_ that doesn't even have a proper pedigree. But no matter what they yelled, the boy stayed unaffected, instead staring straight at the first prince, who's lip twitched in amusement over the fact that nearly everyone, no _everyone_ in the jury seats were all yelling, screaming curses, and spitting at the boy who ignored all of this after he got bored of rebuttling, instead taking to staring at the first prince, eyes _daring_ him to touch the sword in front of him.

"Silence!" A hand rose from the emperor and everyone quickly stopped at his word, sitting down with ashamed, shocked faces as they looked at the boy vehemently before muttering apologies to the emperor in their head. Everyone waited to see what the man would do in a tense silence, the seven year old child next to the boy bowing his head in exasperation of the commotion his friend had just put them through.

Nothing was said before Koutoku burst into laughter, scaring the jury, the three people next to the two, and bewildering the said pair as they watched, wondering of his next motives. After a few minutes of his laughter, a grin grew on his face, "You," He looked at the boy, "Are you stupid or suicidal."

The boy shrugged in response, ignoring the gawking he received from the casual movement, "I would say both, but I seem to lean more towards the 'bored idiot' at times rather than the 'psychopathic suicidal'." The emperor roared in another bout of laughter, instilling fear into every single person who knew of his persona except for his son, who only turned tense as he listened the exchange whilst only looking at the boy.

"Tell me," He looked at the boy, "What's your name."

"My apologies for I do not know of your own. I prefer staying away from politics whenever I can avoid it." He narrowed his eyes at the child, "I am Koutoku Ren, the Emperor of the Kou Empire. And I will not ask for your name again. You're testing my patience."

He nodded, "My name will be confidential until all five of us receive a full release without any minor problems."

Koutoku stared down at the boy with his beady eyes, looking for any fear in his soul, but saw none, only what seemed to be determination not to give out as much information as they could. The officials held their breaths, frightened of what will happen, but also wishful that the emperor would execute all of the five on the spot.

After what seemed like an eternity, Koutoku smirked, "Only this once. Though, when I see you again," His eyes narrowed, "You _will_ become part of the Kou military force along with whatever party you may bring with you. But, if you are truly not what I think you are masquerading as," A vicious smirk fell upon his face, "You will become part of the first prince's harem." Alima choked on her spit for a second, but acted as if nothing had happened. She glanced at the first prince in her peripheral vision and quickly didn't look back. His eyes looked hungry for information, as if she were a puzzle just ready to be solved by him. "Now, I will not let you test what minimum patience I have. Your name."

Alima untied the tight rope on the back of her hands and let the rope fall to the floor, "Alima Nader." He nodded, "Very well then, take your sword and those things and leave."

Alima didn't have to be told twice and walked normally over to her sword, sliding it into place on her right side of her ropes, which had to be tightened quite a few times over the years, now having a part of it dangle at the back of her left thigh down to the back of her knee. The girl then walked back to see Montz had already freed the three who looked at them suspiciously, but followed the girl anyways. After all, she was their only escape. Alima nearly sighed in content as she left, feeling the cool weight of the sword right next to her along with the entity of the djinn.

Guards, no matter how scared they were, had escorted them out of the castle by the emperor's order, slamming the door quickly behind them.

Montz shrugged, "' Don't blame 'em. I would've run too if I were them."

Alima mentally rolled her eyes, instead choosing to focus on what was more important, "You three," They snapped to attention, the mature-looking one calculating about her, the girl hiding behind him, and the other guy giving her a ferocious grin and ready for a fight, "Hungry?"

The trio blinked, unexpecting the question. The one in front shook his head, "We're fine on our own. We don't need to take up on your offer. After all, we aren't hung-"

Two consecutive growls intervened with the baritone decline, making him glare at the two behind him with icy glares as they looked at him sheepishly. He sighed, before nodding in defeat, "We will appreciate it very much if you did."

Alima shrugged, "Montz needs to eat anyways."

The three were confused at the name before the short boy glared up at them, "Oi, I'm Montz. Don't be such meanies!" He stuck a tongue out at them which Alima caught and twisted, making his eyes widen as he screamed and begged for mercy, crocodile tears falling from his eyes.

Alima eyed him for a moment before dropping his tongue, not even bothering to wipe her fingers off.

...

"_So.. what exactly happened with the Koutoku dude and Alima? And who are those weird guys grandpa. I wanna know so bad."_

"_What happened there is a mystery that will unravel itself in time Nevaeh, and those 'weird guys' aren't just any people."_

"_Ha? How did they get into that mess with a bunch of strangers and what do you mean?"_

"_...Well Montz had said he wanted to try some Kou cuisine and since Alina had kept them in the outskirts of Kou in the forest, they went on their way to a restaurant where they saw a commotion. The three were fighting what seemed like soldiers. Montz had thought they were fighting slave traders, fought with them, dragged Alima into the mess (all she did was dodge and parry blows though), and they were caught by the outnumbering soldiers and sent to have a jury in front of the Emperor, who had felt it would be a good day to play the role of judge at that time. Quite interesting what fate could do, don't you think my dear Nevaeh?"_

"_I guess, I still don't get how those people are important."_

"_Oh hush and let me continue."_

...

"So your name is Ztec," The older boy nodded, "Your name is Astrik," The younger twin nodded, "And you're their aunt, Nala, even though you're younger than the two by a year." A solid nod came from the girl, who smiled weakly at the boy in front of her, Montz.

"Well I'm Montz," he pointed at himself, "and this is Alima, my nee-sama," The three took a spit-take on their water, drenching the poor boy who was still pointing, albeit weakly, at the older girl.

"Wa-Wait a second, so you're a girl?" Alima looked at Astrik without the slightest show of offense, "Does it really matter?"

He waved his hands, "B-b-b-but you're so flat!" Montz snickered as Alima looked away with a hint of a blush on her cheeks, "Actually, nee-same hides it with her bandages, but she's really quite the looker if you see her." At this, all three of them spluttered.

Alima shrugged, "I'm not pretty, don't over exaggerate on how I look just because you've seen me before." The way she worded the sentence made then choke on their food even more. "Now, I need to go pay for the food." As she got up, Montz whispered for them to watch her walk and saw the slightly feline-like way she walked, her hips moving from side to side.

Astrik shoved a bunch of napkins up Nala's nose as she started spurting everywhere, cursing the luck they had. He looked over at his brother and saw him try to hide a blush, "Oh, are you thinking naughty thoughts about Alima?"

Ztec rose an eyebrow at him, a piece of chicken in his mouth. His twin deflated as he saw the heat was from the spicy chicken and frazzled his brother further.

Alima beckoned them over so they could walk out and walk the streets of Kou. She hummed in thought, "So you guys were part of the Zhou Empire, didn't like how your country went so willingly to the Kou, and became rebels?"

They all nodded, "That's ridiculous." They swiftly looked at her with incredulous faces, though Astrik's held one of anger, "How dare you! We didn't like how we were given up so easily. We should have fought for our freedom-"

"And lost many lives in the process, nearly destroy themselves before going to defeat when the Kou finally got the country where they wanted it to be? So many people's lives were saved, but the only choice you had to pay was to be part of Kou."

"How could you talk as if you were there. You don't even have a _family_!"

Ztec grabbed his twin's shoulder tightly in warning. Alima gave him a shrug, "I guess I don't really remember them. Who I do remember though, are the people who took me under their wing and taught me to be the best I could. They were sorta like a family. So I could say I have one, but I could never say that I could want anything else." She took a breath, "I would want my family to be safe and angry at me rather than dead and only myself or someone else alive to cry and sob about how they all died. I would rather they curse me than be hurt just because of stubbornness." Alima looked over to see the trio less tense, Astrik looking down at the floor with a solemn face. He then looked at her and grinned, "You know, you're not that half bad Alima, dayo!"

His eyes widened as a blush appeared on his face. Alima rose an eyebrow as Nala snickered and Ztec twitched, "Dammit Astrik, we were almost rid of that and now we got it again, dane!"

Montz burst into laughter as he heard Ztec. Apparently, that made it a domino effect, making Nala fall to the floor laughing as Ztec and Astrik argued who's fault it was for getting their speech impediment back. Alima rolled my eyes as I looked around.

The four had gotten to the outskirts of Kou once more and were in the forest. The sun was starting to set so Alima, the only sane person in the group, started getting ready an average sized fire pit and gathered a few bits of wood before lighting the fire.

When she looked at the sun, it was nearly nightfall. Alima looked over to the group to see everyone somehow in a large fight. Her eye twitched, "Whoever doesn't find dinner doesn't eat."

They all froze and looked at her as if she were telling them to kill an innocent baby who had done nothing wrong but being born. She winced at the metaphor, scolding herself before speaking once more as she turned the rabbit around on her stick, "Well, I guess you guys don't want to eat."

They ran as fast as they could, making Alima give a slight smirk in victory, biting out of the rabbit.

"Solomon my fucking ass you piece of shit, dayo!"

"How dare you say such words in front of a child!"

"I've heard worse before, Nala. If you heard what I have, you wouldn't even bother with what Astrik just said."

"Oi, respect your elders why don't you, dayo!"

"Only when you do."

"I agree with Montz, dane."

"You little pie-"

"Finish that and Alima will cut your ball sacks, cook them into soup and make you eat it."

"UWAHH!"

Alima sighed in content. The breeze was really relaxing that night.

She ignored the yells and far away screams.

Yeah, really relaxing night.

* * *

**I hope you guys enjoyed that. It took me a little, but it's longer than what I usually write so I hope you guys can forgive me! ^^"  
Anyways, thanks to those who followed (IwasawaKitsuneko, Kokoro-chizu chan, Konno Miharu, Stellar Nymph, and Twilight Dark Angel), favorited (****IwasawaKitsuneko, Kokoro-chizu chan, ****Stellar Nymph, and Twilight Dark Angel), and reviewed (Remnae[guest])!**

**Response:  
Remnae[guest]:I'm glad you thoroughly enjoy my story! It's fine being critical, it makes me a better writer and yourself, a better reader! ^^ I agree with what you're saying. I kinda didn't do a good job of explaining, but that's practically what happened with Alima at her early age. Her parents were preoccupied and were purposefully left with handfuls so they didn't look at their daughter much by caravan members. And yeah, that's what I thought too, but this is Magi, we've got slaves as an easy way of money, the caravan probably got a lot from a strangely colored girl like Alima. And yes, as you can see, I brought Fritz back ^^  
I agree, I'm always looking for mangas like that, but they turn out to be weaker or more sentimental than I'd like. And yes, I'm doing my best to show how Alima changes throughout her years as she grows older.  
Yes, though I think he kinda asked for that since he never picked up on the hints even though they'd lived together for 9 months. That lucky butt was lucky Alima had a gift of sorts in gambling in the next chapter, ahahaha. I just thought that would be kinda funny if she was better than him just by watching how he failed.  
And she was only 12 or 13 when she met him and he was around his early twenties man, so yeah. She was more intrigued by Masrur than by Sinbad and also the relationship the two have. That comes back up in this chapter. ^^****Also, please don't call yourself a measly reader. This fanfic is written so I can get my thoughts out and you guys are the ones willing to read it. Your opinions are more worthy than mine. I might have a poll later on for maybe slight romance mixed in as Alima's pairing, maybe OC, maybe cannon. Who knows.**

**Mitsuyuki-Hime-  
No problem! Though I hope you don't mind this late response. I was a bit tired and didn't see your review. Entirely my mistake! I hope I can make up for it. And thank you very much, you can see more of the connection in this chapter when Montz comes in. ^^ Also, sorry about the 'Flitz Fiasco'. My laptop auto-corrects it to that when I write so I have to make sure it's Fritz, not Flitz, every time. Last time I kinda forgot to... but I fixed it. And yeah, I fixed that in the editing and reviewing over of the chapter. That was albeit confusing in more ways than one, ne? Though Cimeries is a bit of a confusing character in my head. He's kinda... warped. You'll see what I mean when he comes out again. I'm planning on not letting the Djinn go unnoticed/have less screen-time than what idea my head is wrapping around. Again, sorry for the late response and no omake this chapter, but I hope you can forgive me! (From now on I'll be extra careful to see if I missed anyone in reviews and such!)**

**Thank you all for reading so much. See you in the next chapter!**

**Peace!**

**-Ryuu**


	7. Rewritten

Um, hey guys. Sorry I haven't been updating and this one isn't a real update. I know I made a promise to one of you that I'd be posting a day or a few ago, but it just didn't come out right.

So I'm going to be rewriting all my stories, try to get my spirits up, and you'll be hearing from me soon.

These will still be up, but I will be rewriting them.

Auðbjörg Inga Úlfhrafndóttir will be rewritten as 'The Horizon'.

I Don't Know will be rewritten as 'No Such Thing as Destiny'.

Simply Complex will be rewritten as 'Fireflies'.

The Impromptu Paradoxical Posterity will be rewritten as 'Forgotten Runes'.

Thank you for reading and being patient with me you guys. It means a lot to me.

-Wishful Falling (AKA Ryuu)


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